


Leather Gloves

by dead_stardust



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Demon Blood, Demon Hunters, Demon/Human Hybrid, Demon/Human Relationships, Emotional Manipulation, Engagement, F/M, Fortuna (Devil May Cry), Gaslighting, Graphic Description of Corpses, Kissing, Mild Gore, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Devil May Cry 4, Strained Relationships, Violence, cannibalism of a demon actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28221915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dead_stardust/pseuds/dead_stardust
Summary: Kyrie presents Nero with a gift.
Relationships: Kyrie/Nero (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	Leather Gloves

**Author's Note:**

> I'm only one mission into DMC5 because my computer sucks and can't run the game well. It's gonna be forever until I get to finish that game.
> 
> So yeah. Post-DMC4 relationship stuff between Nero and Kyrie.

“I bought you something you might like.”

Kyrie slid a long, flat box wrapped in blue wrapping paper across the table. It had only been a week since everything that had gone down on Fortuna. The survivors were all picking up the pieces of their lives, buildings were being mended, and stray demons were still being culled. The girl looked up at her boyfriend - fiancé now - with sparkling eyes and a wide smile.

Nero took the box, looking at it curiously. “You did? What is it?”

“Open it, silly!” Kyrie said, pushing the box closer.

“What’s it for?” Nero asked as he ran his demonic claw against the paper. It tore, falling to the table. He looked up as Kyrie kept her gaze on his face.

“I just saw these in the shop the other day. I thought they’d be good,” Kyrie said. She danced on her tiptoes a little out of nervous energy.

Nero opened the packaging and pulled out a pair of white leather gloves, long enough to reach past his forearms. His entire arms would be covered up now, combined with his hoodie rolled up to the upper arms. In his human hand, the leather was a bit cool to the touch, but in his demon hand, he felt no change in temperature. “Gloves?”

“Yeah. For-for gripping your gun and your sword,” Kyrie said. “It must hurt your hands all the time, especially fighting all those nasty little demons.”

Nero pulled a glove over his left arm and flexed his fingers. “It’s soft,” he murmured. He stretched out his arm and his fingers, grinning. “Hey, it looks kinda good!”

Kyrie nudged the box closer. “You like it?”

“Yeah, it’s soft, but it- I might look silly just wearing one, right?” Nero asked.

“Why not wear the other?” Kyrie asked.

“I might rip through it,” Nero mumbled, waving his demon arm.

“I think they’re really durable,” she said. She grabbed the glove and held it up. “Here, I’ll help you put it on.”

Nero reached out and slipped his demon hand inside the leather. It stretched a bit, accommodating the ribbed features of the limb. Kyrie let go, letting the leather settle against his arm.

They fit perfectly.

Nero stretched out both arms and flexed his fingers once more, balling them into fists, then stretching above his head. He set his hands down on the table, looking at his arms. “Hey, these are super comfy. I like ‘em!”

“They make you look really handsome,” Kyrie smiled. She walked around the table and gave him a kiss.

“These should be great for monster-hunting,” Nero noted. “They seem durable, if my one arm can’t cut through it.”

“I made sure to get the toughest leather,” Kyrie said. She hugged Nero’s arm and rested her head against his shoulder. “Nothing but the best for you. Consider it an engagement gift.”

“Aw, thank you,” Nero cooed. He leaned in and dipped Kyrie over, holding his left hand on the small of her back and brushing her red hair away from her face, and gave her a kiss. “You think I should get a suit to go along with this? A nice white jacket? These are far too fancy for just my hoodie.”

“I think they’re fine with just the hoodie. You look handsome with them,” Kyrie said, standing up straight. She put her hands on Nero’s cheeks and gave him a kiss. “You look perfect.”

* * *

Life went on. Nero fought the various demons that stayed around the island. Kyrie helped with fixing up the homes and watching the school-aged children. He had to be extra careful not to scratch up his gloves too bad, lest he risk ripping them.

Nero lay in bed with his hands behind his head, only wearing his pajama pants and a t-shirt, while Kyrie shivered. She held her arms around herself as she covered her nightgown with a fluffy robe.

“Aren’t you cold?” The young woman asked.

“Wha?” Nero asked. He pulled the blanket back.

“Aren’t you  _ cold?”  _ Kyrie repeated as her teeth chattered. She crawled in bed, stuffing her hands between her thighs as she cuddled up to her fiancé. “This house is  _ freezing!  _ I feel like my fingers are going to pop off!”

Nero took Kyrie’s hands, feeling her tremble. A chill set in. “Shit, yeah, it  _ is _ cold.” He sat up and pulled open the side drawer, then grabbed a pair of socks. He slipped them on as another chill passed. His hands were still cold. He breathed on them and rubbed them together. “Feels like I’m in the snow… I- I have a dumb idea.” He got up out of the bed.

“Where are you going?” Kyrie asked as she watched her fiancé leave the room.

Nero came back a few minutes later with a sweater and his white gloves, both on. “I checked all the windows and they were all closed. Is the heater busted?” He climbed back in bed next to Kyrie and pulled her close. “I’ll have to check on it in the morning.”

Kyrie took his hands and sighed. “Is it weird that I think you look hot with the gloves on like this?”

“You really like them,” Nero smiled as a blush overtook his face.

“You’re fancy, even when you sleep,” Kyrie said. She peppered Nero with kisses and rested her head on his chest. “Gosh, I wish I brought  _ my _ winter gloves.”

Nero took Kyrie’s hands and rubbed his against hers. “Is this better?”

“Much better.”

* * *

Another day of fighting stray demons, another incident where Nero used his Devil Bringer to grasp an enemy around the throat. The beast drew near and snapped at him, snagging on the white leather. Its tooth grazed down the grain, tearing the glove off. Nero retaliated with a kick and a slice across the head, rending the demon’s throat open. Coagulated orbs of red blood clattered to the ground around him. Nero grabbed the destroyed glove. It had been ripped to shreds by the fangs of the creature. A simple line of stitching wouldn’t do it.

Kyrie was going to be so mad. Shit.

Nero finished up his extermination job as the sun was setting and began his walk home. Fortuna was looking much better as the incident with the Order became a faded memory. Nero stopped by a higher end clothing shop as something caught his eyes - a pair of gloves in the window. They were much shorter than the ones he had been so accustomed to wearing now, probably barely reaching past his wrists, but they were the same white leather that his beloved Kyrie had picked out for him. She would definitely love them.

He stepped inside the shop and talked to the clerk about the gloves. “May I try them on first?”

“Of course,” the clerk said, unlocking the glass box the gloves were held in. Her eyes widened as Nero pulled a glove onto his demon hand. Thankfully, the fit was perfect and nothing tore.

Nero put on the other glove as well. They both went a little past the wrist, but it was still the same effect - white leather gloves good for gripping his sword and gun. “I think I’ll wear these out,” he said, admiring the look. He paid for the gloves and left, with a bit of a kick in his step as he made his way home. Hopefully Kyrie would understand. His clothes got torn all the time when fighting demons. She was used to fixing his hoodie, and he had gone through a few shirts since the incident. This was a normal part of devil hunting.

He swung the door open to see his fiancée setting dinner out on the table, just in time. “Hey!” Nero beamed.

“You’re happy today,” Kyrie said. “How was your day?”

“Erm, well, don’t be mad, but uh-” Nero fished the torn glove out of his pocket. “This one got ripped, but I got another pair!” He set down the torn glove and showed off the new ones. Nero extended his arms and showed off the new gloves. “I couldn’t find long ones, but it’s something, right?”

“Yeah, it’s something,” Kyrie said. The little shine in her eyes left, though her mouth was still curled in a grin. Her eyes flickered from his left hand to his eyes, then lingered on his right hand.

“Is something wrong? I-I swear, I didn’t mean to destroy the ones you got me! It’s just- demons, right?” Nero laughed nervously. “You know…” He scratched the back of his head with his hand before taking the gloves off and sitting down. He rubbed his hands together as he looked at the spread. “Ooo, casserole!”

“That’s all for you,” Kyrie mumbled as she saw Nero dump half of it on his plate, while spooning herself some baked potatoes and carrots onto hers.

“So, how was your day?” Nero asked with a cheek stuffed with food.

“Ah, mostly tutoring. Cleaning. Making dinner,” Kyrie shrugged. “Same as every day.”

“Same here. Lots of fighting.” He watched as his fiancée picked lazily at her food. “Is something wrong?”

“I… I’m just tired,” the redhead admitted. “I might actually skip the rest of dinner. Could you handle the dishes?”

“Kyr, your food is so good I always lick the plates clean. I don’t have to,” Nero chuckled with a goofy smile on his face. She merely stared at him with an exhausted expression. “Of course I’ll do the dishes,” he said after a moment, realizing she wasn’t having as much fun with the joke as he was.

“Thanks.” Kyrie left the table and went to their bedroom, shutting the door behind her with a click.

Nero sat at the table and picked at his food as his stomach churned.  _ Had he done something wrong?  _ No, it was just a long day for her. She still hadn’t gotten over the total upending of their lives. That was fair. Nobody was having an easy time with these seismic changes.

He ate his food in silence, barely finishing up the half of the casserole he took. He put the uneaten food in the fridge, cleaned all the dishes, then grabbed both the ruined glove and Kyrie’s sewing kit and sat down on the couch as he turned on the radio. He tried pinning the glove together and sewed through a few sloppy stitches as best he could, but when he put the glove on, the leather tore even deeper. The thing was busted, and no amount of mending could repair the thing.

...

Nero went to bed a little later, seeing Kyrie sitting up and reading a book. The room was at a modest temperature, unlike the previous nights where it was so cold that both of them had to bundle up like it was winter. “Hey, did someone come by and fix the heating?” Nero asked as he took off his day clothes. “Sorry that I kept forgetting to do that.” He put on a tank top and boxers, then slid into bed next to his fiancée on her right side.

“I figured it out myself,” she said, slipping a bookmark into her book and setting it on the bedside table. Kyrie pulled the blanket over her shoulders and settled in for the night, laying on her left side and having her back to her partner.

“Were you reading all this time?” Nero asked after a pause. He cuddled up next to her, wrapping his right arm around her body. He took her soft human hand with his calloused Devil Bringer.

“I... tried to rest a bit, but I couldn’t actually get to sleep. Decided to read instead,” she mumbled. “I’ve just been feeling awful all day.”

Nero sat up and tilted her head to face him. He put the back of his right hand against her forehead to take her temperature. Immediately, Kyrie hissed and pulled away, grabbing him by the wrist.

_ “Fuck! That damned thing burns! Get it away!”  _ Kyrie moved away from him, keeping her pointer and thumb around his wrist in a tight grip. It was all in one moment of burning haze. She stared at him with panicked eyes as tears set in, rolling down her rosy cheeks.

“I-I’m sorry, I forgot…” Nero muttered, pulling his arm away. He held his right hand with his left. Its core temperature was a bit warmer than the rest of his body, but  _ burning…? _

“I’m so sorry, Nero!” Kyrie yelled, bursting into tears. She threw her arms around him. “It hurts so much when you touch me, b-but I have such a headache, an-and I’ve been feeling so sick all day! I didn’t mean it, I swear!” She buried her face next to his neck as she cried.

Nero shushed her and rubbed her back with his right hand. “Shh, it’s okay, how’s this?”

“It burns,” she whined. Nero immediately pulled his hands back.

“You never said it burns before. A-Are you allergic to something in it?” Nero asked.

Kyrie loosened her grip and pulled back, looking at his face. “It’s always been burned, but it’s also so cold…”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Nero asked. “I’ve been touching you with it for awhile. I don’t want to hurt you, Kyr.”

“I-I-I think I’m just feeling ill today,” she mumbled, before settling back down and pulling the covers over her. “I’m tired.”

“May I at least change sides? I still want to cuddle,” Nero said. “I like holding you. It helps me sleep better.”

“No. I’m tired,” Kyrie said, more forcefully this time. “I’m going to sleep.”

Nero sighed and rested back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I wish you would’ve told me sooner. I don’t wanna hurt you, you know.”

“Nero… it’s a demon’s arm. How could you not tell that it hurts?”

* * *

The two barely spoke over breakfast the next morning. Kyrie had made some oatmeal and coffee for the two of them. She kept glancing at him, then finished up her meal quickly and got up to leave. Nero stopped her, making sure to put on the short gloves he bought, then took her hands.

“I’m so sorry about last night. It was my fault,” he said. He went to stroke her cheek with his right hand, but pulled back, opting instead for a kiss.

Kyrie returned the kiss reluctantly. “It’s okay. You can’t help it. It’s not your fault you have it,” she said with a smile. She gave him another kiss and quickly left, leaving Nero to pick at his barely-touched meal.

He ended up throwing out the oatmeal and putting the coffee in the fridge, not feeling hungry in the slightest. An awful decision which he would definitely regret by the end of the day, but he feared he may throw up due to all of the anxiety bubbling within him.

More demons. More extermination. More use of the hand that had only hurt his beloved Kyrie. His stomach growled as he finished off a Scarecrow, digging the Red Queen into its chest with more vigor and enmity than he normally would. A pulsing pushed at his heart as the demon collapsed. Hellish muscle and sinew was left open to the world. A pang of hunger ripped at Nero as he stared at the gaping hole. He hadn’t eaten all day, and this demon was calling to him.

Nero stabbed his sword in the ground and dug at the flesh of the Scarecrow with his clawed right hand, then took a nervous bite out of it. It reminded him of rare meat, mixed in with strawberries, oddly enough. The taste of utter sinfulness. As the blood dripped down Nero’s jaw, it curdled into little red orbs, clicking on the ground like glass. His bites left his mouth full, and the meat slid down his throat, closing it fully. He coughed and choked on it, but that response only left him begging for more.

He wouldn’t stop eating the decaying demon until his stomach felt fuller than full. He stepped back, seeing his hands and hoodie stained with blood. Fully satiated with his meal and licking his bloodied Devil Bringer, he wondered what his beloved would think of him.

_ “You can’t help it.” _

Nero shook his hand, letting the blood splatter on the ground like raindrops, then wiped his jaw. He felt like he was going to retch, but his stomach purred in acceptance of the shameful meal he had just consumed.

The rest of the day was more of the same. Demons. Extermination. Sword. Gun. Repeat. Nero’s mouth watered whenever he finished off a demon, but his sated hunger was not enough for him to fully dig in.

As the sun set, he began his walk home. He washed his hoodie off in a river and carried the wet fabric over his shoulder. The walk was absolutely miserable. His demon arm was exposed to the captious crowd, who wrinkled their noses and whispered amongst each other. Nero had  _ saved  _ them! Had they forgotten what he had done so soon?

Nero entered his and Kyrie’s home, hoping she would run up to him and throw her arms around him. He would pick her up and spin her around, giving her a few kisses as she asked him about his day. Today, nothing. His heart ached. He didn’t mean to hurt her last night. He would never...

The dinner table had a note and a box on it. He picked up the note.

_ Nero, _

_ I had to go back to Mrs Di Pasqua’s house. She wants me to look after the kids for the night. I made some soup that just needs to be warmed up. It’s in the fridge. _

_ I apologize for my outburst earlier. I’ve simply been feeling unwell. I hope you can accept this gift. _

_ Love, Kyrie _

Nero set down the note and opened the flat, white box. Inside were a pair of white leather gloves, long enough to reach past his forearms. He picked them up and felt the material, then took off his old gloves and slipped the new ones on.

They fit perfectly.


End file.
